But the previous lady at that specific counter had seemed to harbor a deep vendetta against female students.
Girls consistently received half the meat portions that the boys got.
She was the most complained-about worker in the entire cafeteria.
No one knew if that was why she was replaced, but the new worker was an absolute godsend.
She was quiet, efficient, and filled everyone's plates with pure, unbiased joy.
Lex Grant didn't join in the praise.
She rarely ate meat anyway.
Allowing herself the luxury maybe once or twice a week was a splurge.
At one point, to build her nest egg, Lex had restricted herself to a single meat dish
per month. When Skylar and Zara Zeller noticed, they consulted Claire on what to do.
Claire pointed out that Lex was fiercely independent, and outright charity would only offend her.
Instead, Claire warned Lex that malnutrition would destroy her health.
It wasn't just about dry hair or a pale complexion.
What if she passed out during an exam, or during her shift?
Failing her classes was bad enough, but endangering others on the job was worse.
Through gentle persuasion, the three of them convinced Lex.
She now treated herself to meat once or twice a week.
If she hit her earning goals, she rewarded herself with an extra portion on the weekend.
Knowing how hard she fought just to survive, none of them offered her a handout.
For Lex, this respect was everything.
She was deeply grateful they protected her fragile pride.
Today, however, Lex was splurging on meat, so they all marched to the cafeteria together.
"We originally planned to each get a different dish so we could share, but
now what? Do we
веч
I just go to the
new lady's line?"
Zara asked the group.
Ever since getting engaged to Preston Dalton, she had stopped overthinking the small things.
Someone else handled the details, leaving her perfectly content to be happy and pampered.
Thankfully, she still cared about her degree, even if she was lazy in everything else.
"We can just grab sides from another counter," Claire said casually.
A small break in routine wouldn't upset Lex.
Constantly refusing their little accommodations would only create unnecessary distance between them.
When they finally reached the legendary line, Claire was speechless.
The queue was massive.
She couldn't even see the server.
Though she had a strong suspicion it was Hillary, she had no proof.
But if it was her, she truly excelled at whatever she did.
Elevating even scooping food to an art form.
Hillary almost sneezed, but staring fiercely at the industrial trays of food in front of her she suppressed it
of her she suppresse
Claire and her friends dutifully waited. Cutting in line was social suicide here.
Claire herself had spearheaded a trend of publicly shaming line-cutters over the cafeteria loudspeakers.
Because they were at the
Cabinda University,
prestigious Cabindat
prested their face draggel?get
one
through the mud like that
Consequently, the practice was drastically reduced.
The few who dared to test the system had been thoroughly humiliated.
Now, the entire cafeteria was incredibly orderly.
No matter how long the line, total order reigned.